14 June 2005 Devotion for Today “Digging Through the Wall” Ezekiel 12:3-6
Friendship Baptist Church met in a three hundred-year-old barn in the town of Langenselbold, Germany. One year we experienced a severe plumbing problem where the waste water from the kitchen was trapped somewhere and not flowing out of the building. No one knew much about the pipes or the drain lines since most of our congregation transferred in or out every two to three years. The residue from the waste water left a horrible musty smell in the building that would nearly take your breath away. After several weeks of trying to locate the source of the problem, we were able to locate a drain line that went into a brick wall. No one knew where the line went from that point. With mallets and chisels we penetrated the wall only to discover that the pipe had been stuck into an empty hole in the wall. The waste water was allowed to pour through that hole and leach into the dirt floor beneath. The putrid smell was unbearable as we cleaned up the mess and began re-plumbing the kitchen waste water drainage line. We do not know how long it had been that way. It appeared that the plumber- probably one of our temporary members, placed the line in the hole and was not able to complete the job without telling anyone. Only when we dug through the wall did we discover the problem to get rid of the “funky smell” that was so offensive to us.
In our Scripture text today we find Ezekiel digging through a wall of his own. It was not to signify a plumbing problem, but the problem of pending judgment upon Israel. He was to dig through the wall of his house and exit onto the open street. Then he was to carry all of his luggage with him. You can imagine what effect this might have upon the people as they are forced to stop and look. It would compel them to ask, “Where are you going?” Ezekiel the prophet answers by saying that their captors would dig through walls to capture them and take them back to Babylon.
“Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sigh, and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight. It may be they will consider though they be a rebellious house. Then shalt thou bring forth thy stuff for removing and thous shalt go forth at even in their sight, as they that go forth into captivity. Dig thou through the wall in their sight, and carry out thereby. In their sight shalt thou beart it upon thy shoulders, and carry it forth in the twilight: thou shalt cover thy face, that thou see not the ground: for I have set thee for a sign unto the house of Israel.” Ezekiel 12:3-6
This prophecy may seem bizarre to its readers, but no more bizarre and strange were the ways of the people- especially in their relationship toward the God who loved them. You may want to consider what walls you may wish to dig through today to get at the source of whatever is causing that “funky smell” that affects your relationship with Him. Have a blessed day!
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